Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri Rejects Support for Principlists in Upcoming Elections

Two days after Gholamali Haddad Adel, spokesperson for the 'Coalition Council of Principlists', stated that Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, former Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, would support the Principlists in the upcoming elections, Nategh Nouri's office denied reports of his support for a 'specific political faction'. According to Mehr News Agency, on Friday, January 1, Nategh Nouri's office announced that he has not supported 'any specific political group' in the upcoming elections and does not 'collaborate' with them. Gholamali Haddad Adel had claimed on December 30 that 'Mr. Nategh Nouri is with the Principlists and will provide necessary assistance' to this movement. Nategh Nouri is a senior member of the Combatant Clergy Association and was a rival of Mohammad Khatami in the 1997 presidential elections. However, in the 2009 presidential elections, reports emerged about his support for Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, implicitly accused Nategh Nouri and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's sons of economic corruption during the 2009 presidential debates. Following Ahmadinejad's remarks, Mustafa Nategh Nouri, Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri's son, praised Mousavi's televised debate style in a letter and wished him victory. Last year, there were reports of joint meetings between Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, and Mohammad Khatami for the tenth parliamentary elections, but Rafsanjani denied these reports. Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, stated on October 27, 2014, that Nategh Nouri is upset about the 'injustice' he faced during the ninth and tenth administrations and the 'conspiracies' that occurred. Recently, a council called the 'Coalition Council of Principlists' has been formed, and this council has elected Gholamali Haddad Adel as its spokesperson. Other members include Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party, Hossein Fadaei, Secretary-General of the Martyrs' Society, Morteza Aghazadeh, Secretary-General of the Stability Front, and Sadegh Mahsouli, Minister of Interior in Ahmadinejad's government. However, some principlist parties and figures, including Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, do not have representation in this council. Previously, some Iranian websites and news outlets reported that the reason for Larijani's non-participation in the 'Coalition Council of Principlists' was the presence of the 'Stability Front' in this coalition. Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran, considered Larijani's decision not to join this coalition a 'smart political move to save principlism'. According to the 'Nameh News' website, he emphasized that Larijani and his allies should have separated their path from other principlists sooner, as he and his allies cannot be placed alongside members of the Stability Front. Motahari added, 'Individuals like Larijani should speak directly to the people and say that we are the real principlists and do not accept the coalition plan of the principlists.' Members of the Stability Front are among the main critics of Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the ninth parliament, and some other members of the presiding board, including Mohammad Reza Bahonar. Meanwhile, reports emerged about Bahonar threatening to withdraw from the 'Coalition of Principlists' if the names of Hamid Rasai, Mahmoud Nabavian, and Mehdi Koochakzadeh, three members of the Stability Front, were included in the coalition list. However, Bahonar's office denied these reports on Friday. The principlists have again attacked Hashemi Rafsanjani. One day after Haidar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence in the tenth government, and some other principlists attacked Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Gholamali Haddad Adel, head of the principlist faction in Parliament, stated on Friday that 'some are trying to factionalize' the Assembly of Experts elections with suspicious behavior and statements. According to Mehr News Agency, he added, 'It is really questionable that when the Leader spoke about the integrity of the elections in 2009, some remained silent and said nothing, and later took up the banner of the people's right to vote.' Alireza Zakani, a principlist representative in Parliament, also criticized Hashemi Rafsanjani's statements about the Assembly of Experts' oversight over the Supreme Leader, saying, 'Those who want to oversee the leadership are the same ones who negotiated with Israel and wanted to unite with Saudi Arabia.' Hashemi Rafsanjani has previously criticized the performance of the institutions under the Supreme Leader in dealing with Hassan Rouhani's government, often referring to Ayatollah Khamenei's statements about the people's right to vote. He also stated in an interview with ILNA on December 13 that the Assembly of Experts should not be 'negligent' in overseeing the institutions under the Leader. The head of the Expediency Discernment Council emphasized in this interview that he believed in a council leadership before the removal of the 'Leadership Council' in the constitutional amendment of 1989 and after that, but despite this view, he 'submitted' to the decision of the Assembly of Experts. Several appointees of Ayatollah Khamenei, including Sadegh Amoli Larijani, head of the judiciary, and Ali Saidi, representative of the Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have strongly protested against Rafsanjani's statements and warned about his and his allies' entry into the Assembly of Experts. Haidar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence in Ahmadinejad's government, also stated on Thursday that in the Assembly of Experts elections, 'some are seeking a new sedition and are raising issues like the Leadership Council.'